Bulldog shooting guard Donavan Yap had his best game of the season and secured a win against San Jose State 70-62, on Feb. 7 at the Save Mart Center.

Despite not playing many minutes this season, Yap played 26 out of 40 minutes against the Spartans, accumulating 16 points and going 6-for-10 from the field and 2-for-2 from the 3-point line. 

“I wanted to go out there and play both ends as hard as I could, be passionate and really just let the game come to me,” Yap said. 

San Jose State set the tone quickly, securing the tip-off and connecting from behind the arc, going up 3-0. 

The ‘Dogs answered back, going on a 4-0 run to take the lead 9-3 at the 15-minute mark. 

After both teams struggled to connect to the rim, San Jose State bounced back offensively with a 3-point jumper giving them a two-point lead,14-12. 

Yap then went on a fast break off of an opponent turnover, making 3 points to tie the game up at 21-21 with a little over four minutes remaining.  He scored the last two offensive drives of the first half. To bring the ‘Dogs up, Yap shot 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from behind the arc, closing out the top scorer with 10 points into halftime. 

Bulldog Head Coach Justin Hutson said the improvement on Yap’s confidence level on the court.

“We [have] been asking him to play better defense and we want him to be aggressive on offense and he did both tonight. He did it with passion, fire and confidence,” Hutson said. 

The Bulldogs led 29-27 at half.  

Fresno State opened up the second half looking to extend its lead going on a run to take an 8-point lead. 

Yet, the Spartans did not stay down, shutting down the Dogs’ offensive momentum with a 4-0 response to go up 37-36. Fresno State was forced to take a timeout at the 14-minute mark.

Although the Bulldogs lost its lead, a big dunk by Fresno State center Eduardo Andre sparked up the offense  to tie the game 44-44. Fresno State took the lead for the rest of the game with 8:19 left on a 3 pointer by Isaiah Hill to make it a 48-47 game. 

“Our guys were tough tonight. They were confident, they were together and it was a hard fought game from the opening tip,” Hutson said. 

In the final minutes, the Spartans resorted to fouling Anthony Holland, who sealed the game as he knocked down both free throws. Fresno State wins 70-62. 

Fresno State is now 5-7 in conference play with a 9-14 overall record. It will travel to take on the Nevada Wolfpack on Feb. 10 at the Lawlor Events Center.